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Estee: A Success Story
First published in 1985 and now back in print in a beautifully designed edition, this is a book filled with the inspirations, strategies, and the well-lived and charming instincts that led Estée Lauder from a childhood upbringing in Queens, New York, to the pinnacle of New York society and international style. She soared through the "glass ceiling" with style, a unique accommodation of people’s needs, and an infectious enthusiasm that we all can learn from. From her first break at a major New York store to the formation of companies that include Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins, M-A-C, Le Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone, Coach, and a host of additional leading brands selling on five continents, Mrs. Lauder reveals how her family business became an empire. Legendary clashes with competitors are divulged, including stories of how she outsmarted them with remarkable style, grace, and determination. She describes how she learned to connect with women, the iconoclastic marketing breakthroughs, and the years of incredibly hard work that led to domination of the cosmetic world. She is renowned for conducting a life of drama, but with color and elegance and always with a focus on exquisite detail. In this book, she shared her secrets of good business and good living.
244 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 1985
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1347 people want to read
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July 5, 2020
"I've always believed that if you stick to a thought and carefully avoid distraction along the way, you can fulfill a dream. My whole life has been about fulfilling dreams. I kept my eye on the target, whatever that target was. I've never allowed my eye to leave the particular target of the moment, whether it was a lovely warm meeting with my adorable grandchildren, a business-achievement, plans for an extraordinary party, or even just a quiet evening at home. Whether your target is big or small, grand or simple, ambitious or personal, I've always believed that success comes from not letting your eyes stray from that target. Anyone who wants to achieve a dream must stay strong, focused and steady. She must expect and demand perfection and never settle for mediocrity." (Estée Lauder, Estee: A Success Story, Page 222)
Written by billionaire Estée Lauder, the founder of a cosmetics company that bears her name. She begins this book talking about her beginnings as a young girl and an encounter she had made with her Uncle that came to visit from Hungry. She says he was a skin specialist who loved touching faces. He taught her how to make skin products on the kitchen stove. She says, "He captured my interest as no one else ever had. I was smitten by Uncle John. He understood me. What's more, he produced miracles. I watched as he created a secret formula, a magic cream potion with which he filled vials and jars and flagons and any other handy container. It was a precious velvety cream, this portion, one that magically made you sweetly scented, made your face feel like spun silk, made any passing imperfection be gone by evening" (Page 18). This was the start of her adventure into the cosmetics industry. She began to market these products to people that she knew and then orders were placed. Word of mouth got around and she had trouble fulfilling orders. She then began to expand by having counters in stores and then getting into luxury retail stores. She tells how she organized this; everything from saleswomen, selling techniques, and the quality she put in her products. Her products were so safe she said that you could actually eat them. I won't try it, but if you have an inclination to eat some cosmetics, let me know!
She talks about other things in this book that are more personal like her divorce with her first husband that she admits was a mistake and then remarried until he died. She also talks about how she wanted to be an actress, her sons and their children, who at the end of the book, she is passing the baton of her business too. There is much instructional materials in this book too; everything from how to throw a party, put on make-up, sell, and reaching your dreams. Many delightful pictures throughout also with celebrities, early cosmetic models, her home and parties.
Great book for enterprising women or men!
Written by billionaire Estée Lauder, the founder of a cosmetics company that bears her name. She begins this book talking about her beginnings as a young girl and an encounter she had made with her Uncle that came to visit from Hungry. She says he was a skin specialist who loved touching faces. He taught her how to make skin products on the kitchen stove. She says, "He captured my interest as no one else ever had. I was smitten by Uncle John. He understood me. What's more, he produced miracles. I watched as he created a secret formula, a magic cream potion with which he filled vials and jars and flagons and any other handy container. It was a precious velvety cream, this portion, one that magically made you sweetly scented, made your face feel like spun silk, made any passing imperfection be gone by evening" (Page 18). This was the start of her adventure into the cosmetics industry. She began to market these products to people that she knew and then orders were placed. Word of mouth got around and she had trouble fulfilling orders. She then began to expand by having counters in stores and then getting into luxury retail stores. She tells how she organized this; everything from saleswomen, selling techniques, and the quality she put in her products. Her products were so safe she said that you could actually eat them. I won't try it, but if you have an inclination to eat some cosmetics, let me know!
She talks about other things in this book that are more personal like her divorce with her first husband that she admits was a mistake and then remarried until he died. She also talks about how she wanted to be an actress, her sons and their children, who at the end of the book, she is passing the baton of her business too. There is much instructional materials in this book too; everything from how to throw a party, put on make-up, sell, and reaching your dreams. Many delightful pictures throughout also with celebrities, early cosmetic models, her home and parties.
Great book for enterprising women or men!
May 28, 2011
I greatly admire women who start with almost nothing and build multi-million dollar businesses. There have been more than a few of them in the beauty business: Madam C J Walker, Helena Rubenstein, Elizabeth Arden, and Estee Lauder.
Some of their stories are fascinating. Canadian Elizabeth Arden, born Florence Nightingale Gardner, got the name of her company from a partner, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Tennyson’s poem, “Enoch Arden.” She sold a lipstick during World War II, Montezuma Red, that matched the red on the uniforms of women serving in the armed forces. She was briefly married to a Russian prince.
Helena Rubinstein was born Chaja Rubinstein in Krakow (the house where she was born still stands.) She was an industrial cosmetics chemist and moved to Australia (having no money and speaking no English) in 1902 when she was in her 30s. As she became successful she moved to Paris with her husband who ran the small publishing house that published Lady Chatterly’s Lover. She famously dismissed Marcel Proust: “He smelt of mothballs.” Her vicious rivalry with Elizabeth Arden is legendary. She was married at one time to a Russian prince.
Madam C J Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 Louisiana, the daughter of freed slaves. She was the first woman to become a millionaire by her own achievements and she mentored other women who wanted to start businesses. She donated much of the money to save the Anacostia, DC, house of Frederick Douglass. She did not marry a Russian prince.
And so we come to Estee Lauder. She was born in 1906. Or 1902 or 1908. Accounts vary. She was named Josephine Esther Mentzer. She was to have been named Esty after an aunt but the clerk recorded the name wrong. Or not. Accounts vary. Her parents were wealthy Hungarian immigrants. Or poor Hungarian immigrants who ran a small hardware store. Accounts vary. She worked with her uncle to sell a skin cream he developed. Or she stole the formula from him. Accounts vary. She was without doubt a very successful saleswoman who believed that putting her creams and makeup on her customers’ faces herself created a bond between them. She pioneered the “free sample with purchase,” a technique the company uses today. She did not marry a Russian prince but she did marry Leonard Lauder twice.
Throughout her life, Estee Lauder was very cagey about her age, her youth, her family, the origins of her company, and much more. She was, like the other women cosmeticians, a social climber and she was very successful at it. Her family still runs the firm, and many other cosmetic and perfume brands that they have bought over the years: Aramis, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan, Kate Spade, MAC, Michael Kors, Missoni, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford.
Her son, Ronald Lauder, who apparently isn’t very good at business, collects art from the Vienna Succession and founded the Neue Gallerie in New York, which owns the famous Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. His significant support for Israel led to a short-lived and unsuccessful boycott of the company by pro-Palestinian activists.
Estee Lauder died in 2004, a date we are sure of.
Estee Lauder: Beyond the Magic is an expose in the Kitty Kelley style by Lee Israel that fails because its “revelations” were nearly as questionable as the rumored details of Estee Lauder’s life. No steamy love affairs, no tangles with the law, no unethical business practices, no marriages to Russian nobility.
Estee: A Success Story, written by Estee Lauder herself was published at about the same time as the Lee Israel book (1985) in order to blunt interest in that book. Less objective about Mrs Lauder’s age, family background, and other details of her life, it reads much like a company history written by a PR firm. There is very little of the actual woman in it.
Neither book is worth reading unless you have been reading a string of books about successful women in the cosmetic industry and need to complete the set. Estee Lauder did not lead a particularly interesting life; her business was her life. And neither book gives significant hints about what made her so phenomenally successful – except for a lot of hard work.
2011 Nos 80 and 81
Some of their stories are fascinating. Canadian Elizabeth Arden, born Florence Nightingale Gardner, got the name of her company from a partner, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Tennyson’s poem, “Enoch Arden.” She sold a lipstick during World War II, Montezuma Red, that matched the red on the uniforms of women serving in the armed forces. She was briefly married to a Russian prince.
Helena Rubinstein was born Chaja Rubinstein in Krakow (the house where she was born still stands.) She was an industrial cosmetics chemist and moved to Australia (having no money and speaking no English) in 1902 when she was in her 30s. As she became successful she moved to Paris with her husband who ran the small publishing house that published Lady Chatterly’s Lover. She famously dismissed Marcel Proust: “He smelt of mothballs.” Her vicious rivalry with Elizabeth Arden is legendary. She was married at one time to a Russian prince.
Madam C J Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 Louisiana, the daughter of freed slaves. She was the first woman to become a millionaire by her own achievements and she mentored other women who wanted to start businesses. She donated much of the money to save the Anacostia, DC, house of Frederick Douglass. She did not marry a Russian prince.
And so we come to Estee Lauder. She was born in 1906. Or 1902 or 1908. Accounts vary. She was named Josephine Esther Mentzer. She was to have been named Esty after an aunt but the clerk recorded the name wrong. Or not. Accounts vary. Her parents were wealthy Hungarian immigrants. Or poor Hungarian immigrants who ran a small hardware store. Accounts vary. She worked with her uncle to sell a skin cream he developed. Or she stole the formula from him. Accounts vary. She was without doubt a very successful saleswoman who believed that putting her creams and makeup on her customers’ faces herself created a bond between them. She pioneered the “free sample with purchase,” a technique the company uses today. She did not marry a Russian prince but she did marry Leonard Lauder twice.
Throughout her life, Estee Lauder was very cagey about her age, her youth, her family, the origins of her company, and much more. She was, like the other women cosmeticians, a social climber and she was very successful at it. Her family still runs the firm, and many other cosmetic and perfume brands that they have bought over the years: Aramis, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan, Kate Spade, MAC, Michael Kors, Missoni, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford.
Her son, Ronald Lauder, who apparently isn’t very good at business, collects art from the Vienna Succession and founded the Neue Gallerie in New York, which owns the famous Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. His significant support for Israel led to a short-lived and unsuccessful boycott of the company by pro-Palestinian activists.
Estee Lauder died in 2004, a date we are sure of.
Estee Lauder: Beyond the Magic is an expose in the Kitty Kelley style by Lee Israel that fails because its “revelations” were nearly as questionable as the rumored details of Estee Lauder’s life. No steamy love affairs, no tangles with the law, no unethical business practices, no marriages to Russian nobility.
Estee: A Success Story, written by Estee Lauder herself was published at about the same time as the Lee Israel book (1985) in order to blunt interest in that book. Less objective about Mrs Lauder’s age, family background, and other details of her life, it reads much like a company history written by a PR firm. There is very little of the actual woman in it.
Neither book is worth reading unless you have been reading a string of books about successful women in the cosmetic industry and need to complete the set. Estee Lauder did not lead a particularly interesting life; her business was her life. And neither book gives significant hints about what made her so phenomenally successful – except for a lot of hard work.
2011 Nos 80 and 81
Read
August 17, 2022This was fun. She’s a bit caddy and self-aggrandizing, but she pulls it off. It feels a bit like a mother scolding her daughter for being frumpy and makes you want to go put some makeup on.
May 29, 2020
I read some other reviews and can get the critique. Estee was... a bit extra.
But I have been on a huge business biography kick, and Estee: A success Story in that regard really was a great book. She talks about the first trial / gift sampling, a lot of the details behind makeup counters (a dying thing now!) and funny anecdotes of competing against Revlon.
It's funny that after all these years, Estee Lauder Companies is now a ~70 billion dollar company, and REV a 500million dollar one.
But regardless, obsessive focus on details and product is a mark of many great founders. And this she had it in droves. A uniquely feminine business book, I really enjoyed this one.
But I have been on a huge business biography kick, and Estee: A success Story in that regard really was a great book. She talks about the first trial / gift sampling, a lot of the details behind makeup counters (a dying thing now!) and funny anecdotes of competing against Revlon.
It's funny that after all these years, Estee Lauder Companies is now a ~70 billion dollar company, and REV a 500million dollar one.
But regardless, obsessive focus on details and product is a mark of many great founders. And this she had it in droves. A uniquely feminine business book, I really enjoyed this one.
December 11, 2019
Estée Lauder (1908 - 2004) was the greatest saleswoman in history. She built her beauty empire from just a hobby to multimillion businesses up to date (NYSE: EL, Class A, S&P 500). She pioneered the cosmetic industry, created marketing strategies that became the marketing norm today, and pave the way for women in business. She wrote this book so dearly. I thought Shoe Dog was the best business book of all time but I have to change my mind for Estée Lauder because, wow, she is phenomenal.
Estée was born in Queens, NYC to an immigrant parent. She had so much passion for beauty since she was a young girl and would always tag along with her uncle who was a chemist and skincare expert to learn about mixing the cream with him and finally mastered her craft. What I love the most about her story was how she sells. She totally blew me away. Her first kicked off product-market fit was experimenting in the salon where she would bring her cream in delicate jars and then she would dab the cream in the women's hands. Skincare wasn't a thing back then and Estée's cream was a hit. Her biggest advertisment strategy was simply words of mounth. She also gave away the cream or gave free demo in the counter. She put her first pop up store inside the salon and it grew rapidly so much that she started to hire women to help her and trained them personally. Right around 1946, she established Estée Lauder as a company with her husband.
The demand for Estée's cream was so high that she had to expand her business into the big malls in New York, Texas and acorss the nation. Here's my favourite part, when she tried to expand the company internationally, it was Harrods London that she tried to sell to but they always refused her. Months went by with a lot of rejections and then one day, she spilled the Estée Lauder perfume in the floor of Harrods (intentionally) and the customers went crazy about this amazing smell and everybody want the perfume. Harrods buyer had to accept the growing demand of the customers and signed the deal with Estée. There are so many amazing stories like this that Estée shared with her heart and soul and I'm so glad I came across this book.
Regardless of what kind of The Estée Lauder Companies became today, I was so inspired by the story of its founder, by two hands of a woman who had so much ambition, passion, and determination. Although I didn't pay much attention to her glamorous life style but I learned so much from Estee, her business lessons, being a business woman, family and life value. I definitely recomend this books to the all the lady who want to start beauty business or any business. This book is a guide, a must read.
Estée was born in Queens, NYC to an immigrant parent. She had so much passion for beauty since she was a young girl and would always tag along with her uncle who was a chemist and skincare expert to learn about mixing the cream with him and finally mastered her craft. What I love the most about her story was how she sells. She totally blew me away. Her first kicked off product-market fit was experimenting in the salon where she would bring her cream in delicate jars and then she would dab the cream in the women's hands. Skincare wasn't a thing back then and Estée's cream was a hit. Her biggest advertisment strategy was simply words of mounth. She also gave away the cream or gave free demo in the counter. She put her first pop up store inside the salon and it grew rapidly so much that she started to hire women to help her and trained them personally. Right around 1946, she established Estée Lauder as a company with her husband.
The demand for Estée's cream was so high that she had to expand her business into the big malls in New York, Texas and acorss the nation. Here's my favourite part, when she tried to expand the company internationally, it was Harrods London that she tried to sell to but they always refused her. Months went by with a lot of rejections and then one day, she spilled the Estée Lauder perfume in the floor of Harrods (intentionally) and the customers went crazy about this amazing smell and everybody want the perfume. Harrods buyer had to accept the growing demand of the customers and signed the deal with Estée. There are so many amazing stories like this that Estée shared with her heart and soul and I'm so glad I came across this book.
Regardless of what kind of The Estée Lauder Companies became today, I was so inspired by the story of its founder, by two hands of a woman who had so much ambition, passion, and determination. Although I didn't pay much attention to her glamorous life style but I learned so much from Estee, her business lessons, being a business woman, family and life value. I definitely recomend this books to the all the lady who want to start beauty business or any business. This book is a guide, a must read.
January 28, 2008
Delicious. Estee self-glorifies, trashes Helena Rubenstein and Charles Revson. You guys gotta see the pictures, too.
May 4, 2025
This was the most expensive book I ever bought, but a prudent purchase. Has no idea what a trailblazing business leader and seller Estee was almost a century ago which was unheard of for women at the time. She loved her craft and her family and they built an incredible empire in making people beautiful. She was obsessed with creams and fragrances,
Some take away:
- A person had to love what she sells if she’s to expect others to love it.
- Good luck is something you make. Bad luck is something you endure. People make their luck by daring to follow their instincts, taking risks, and embracing every possibility.
- Risk taking is the cornerstone of empires.
- I didn’t need bread to eat, but I worked as if I did from pure love of the venture.
- If you are a business woman, attention must be paid to your mate. If marriage is to succeed, she must make him feel strong and important.
- marketing: telephones, telegraphs, tell-a-woman
- Estee’s line at Sak’s was so simple: 4 products and gift with purchase
- When a person with experience meets a person with money, the person with the experience will have the money and the person with the money will have the experience. - Leonard Lauder
- Persistence is what makes a businesswoman successful.
- “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that. But the really great make you feel that you too can become great.” - Mark Twain … paraphrased
- If you don’t do important things when you think of them, you probably never will.
- Make the most of what you have. If you can’t have what you want in that moment, surround yourself with symbols of your ideals.
- “She, and other executives, spent time selling so they could learn the market in the most direct way.”
- “Do what is right. It will please some people and astonish the rest.” - Mark Twain
- If business is slow in a dead market, take away share from your competitors by coming up with better products.
- The difference in products lies in the vendor - you - not the products. Excellent products die in the markerplace if the vendor isn’t passionate and clever.
- You can have it all if you are willing to work for it and don’t stray from the target.
Some take away:
- A person had to love what she sells if she’s to expect others to love it.
- Good luck is something you make. Bad luck is something you endure. People make their luck by daring to follow their instincts, taking risks, and embracing every possibility.
- Risk taking is the cornerstone of empires.
- I didn’t need bread to eat, but I worked as if I did from pure love of the venture.
- If you are a business woman, attention must be paid to your mate. If marriage is to succeed, she must make him feel strong and important.
- marketing: telephones, telegraphs, tell-a-woman
- Estee’s line at Sak’s was so simple: 4 products and gift with purchase
- When a person with experience meets a person with money, the person with the experience will have the money and the person with the money will have the experience. - Leonard Lauder
- Persistence is what makes a businesswoman successful.
- “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that. But the really great make you feel that you too can become great.” - Mark Twain … paraphrased
- If you don’t do important things when you think of them, you probably never will.
- Make the most of what you have. If you can’t have what you want in that moment, surround yourself with symbols of your ideals.
- “She, and other executives, spent time selling so they could learn the market in the most direct way.”
- “Do what is right. It will please some people and astonish the rest.” - Mark Twain
- If business is slow in a dead market, take away share from your competitors by coming up with better products.
- The difference in products lies in the vendor - you - not the products. Excellent products die in the markerplace if the vendor isn’t passionate and clever.
- You can have it all if you are willing to work for it and don’t stray from the target.
February 25, 2025
While I'm usually not into reading autobiographical books (most are narcissistic love stories written to themselves), I took a chance on this (having worked for a time at the company) and it was pretty good! What I liked most was her honesty about herself, very rare in auto bios, as she didn't turn this into a "blame the other person" rant, never their own fault, of course! When she wrote about her divorce, she acknowledged what a mistake it was, how she took the wrong advice (like from a divorced woman who naturally couldn't stand to see another woman with a husband), how they should have worked things out and how, despite having some fun and freedom (without crossing the line to getting naked with every guy she dated) she missed being married and wanted that life back again. Luckily, so did her ex-husband, and they got back together before either replaced the other, and they stayed together, even worked together. A perfect partnership (or as near as people can get), and she lamented the way too many people break up without trying to solve their problems (something that's gotten worse since this book was written). Unlike most people who write their own story, she blamed herself, rather than say it was all his fault, try to make him look terrible while making herself look perfect, etc. Sad to say, that's all too common these days, with the ME Generation attitude of the past decades.
I also love the whole nonconformist thing: she was a businesswoman before it became fashionable. She wanted something different out of life and did what was right for herself, without worshipping the Great God Society, that too many people bow down to. I feel the same about women today who choose to stay home and take care of their family, despite its being out of fashion. Heaven forbid we don't shout "How high???" when society orders, "JUMP!!!"
She really was a strong, independent woman, who also knew how to love someone besides herself, and didn't hate men and blame them for everything. Pretty rare these days.
I also love the whole nonconformist thing: she was a businesswoman before it became fashionable. She wanted something different out of life and did what was right for herself, without worshipping the Great God Society, that too many people bow down to. I feel the same about women today who choose to stay home and take care of their family, despite its being out of fashion. Heaven forbid we don't shout "How high???" when society orders, "JUMP!!!"
She really was a strong, independent woman, who also knew how to love someone besides herself, and didn't hate men and blame them for everything. Pretty rare these days.
March 12, 2025
Estée is a phenomenal book, offering an intimate, first-person account of one of the most successful business leaders in history. Like the best founder memoirs, it doesn’t romanticize the struggle—it embraces it. Estée Lauder shares her journey with genuine excitement, detailing the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the sheer determination it took to build a beauty empire from the ground up.
What makes her story stand out is how personal her approach was—she didn’t just sell beauty products, she sold a vision. She built her brand literally by touching thousands of faces, demonstrating her products with conviction, and believing deeply in the power of elegance. Her passion for skincare and makeup wasn’t just business; it was a philosophy.
Beyond being a beauty mogul, Estée was elegant, ambitious, and relentless in her pursuit of success. She lived a remarkable life, and her journey is an inspiring example for entrepreneurs everywhere. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it truly takes to build a brand that lasts.
What makes her story stand out is how personal her approach was—she didn’t just sell beauty products, she sold a vision. She built her brand literally by touching thousands of faces, demonstrating her products with conviction, and believing deeply in the power of elegance. Her passion for skincare and makeup wasn’t just business; it was a philosophy.
Beyond being a beauty mogul, Estée was elegant, ambitious, and relentless in her pursuit of success. She lived a remarkable life, and her journey is an inspiring example for entrepreneurs everywhere. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it truly takes to build a brand that lasts.
October 19, 2025
Starts strong with her family background and offers some solid insights on management, sales, and marketing but that’s about where the value ends. It might help introverts understand the power of socializing and how to do it right, but the book quickly loses focus, repeats itself, and even stumbles into trivialities like makeup tips. It overpromises and underdelivers. If you’re skimming, just read the first two chapters and the one on what business schools don’t teach, the rest is filler.
June 15, 2025
3 +
Estée Lauder : η ζωή της και η εταιρεία.
Είναι ωραίο ως Καλοκαιρινό ανάγνωσμα. Ξεχωρίζει ο τρόπος γραφής, η δραματικότητα χωρίς υπερβολές, η έλλειψη φανφάρας. Επίσης, υπάρχει ειλικρίνεια και πραγματικές συμβουλές. Στα αρνητικά κουράζει ο ατέρμονος ανταγωνισμός, τα τεχνάσματα και προς το τέλος( SPOILER )
η αναλυτική περιγραφή του μενού των πάρτι.
Estée Lauder : η ζωή της και η εταιρεία.
Είναι ωραίο ως Καλοκαιρινό ανάγνωσμα. Ξεχωρίζει ο τρόπος γραφής, η δραματικότητα χωρίς υπερβολές, η έλλειψη φανφάρας. Επίσης, υπάρχει ειλικρίνεια και πραγματικές συμβουλές. Στα αρνητικά κουράζει ο ατέρμονος ανταγωνισμός, τα τεχνάσματα και προς το τέλος( SPOILER )
η αναλυτική περιγραφή του μενού των πάρτι.
June 1, 2025
Parts 1 and 2 were great. Part 3 was largely a lot of name dropping and silliness, but overall I enjoyed this one more than I imagined I would.
June 21, 2025
There were parts of this book that were interesting, but then parts this book that were just lame.
May 27, 2018
I requested this book based on a recommendation from an esthetician. It is a quick and entertaining read.
Knowing what I know about cosmetic companies and ingredients, I did roll my eyes as I read Lauder's repeated insistence that she uses only the pure, natural, and clean ingredients -- but that is not relevant to the book.
Lauder gives the reader some background information (parents, childhood, etc.), but I was most interested in how she developed and built her eponymous line.
I skipped chapter 11: Living Well and Loving It (People, Parties and Places I Have Known) because I didn't think I could handle the bragging and name-dropping. Alas, that comes with reading autobiographies.
Knowing what I know about cosmetic companies and ingredients, I did roll my eyes as I read Lauder's repeated insistence that she uses only the pure, natural, and clean ingredients -- but that is not relevant to the book.
Lauder gives the reader some background information (parents, childhood, etc.), but I was most interested in how she developed and built her eponymous line.
I skipped chapter 11: Living Well and Loving It (People, Parties and Places I Have Known) because I didn't think I could handle the bragging and name-dropping. Alas, that comes with reading autobiographies.
October 28, 2011
An impressive story of how the Estee' Lauder skin care kingdom came to be. I enjoy getting the back ground stories on famous people. She loved her husband and two boys who supported her as she gently but firmly made her way into the industry competing with Liz Arden, Revlon and Rubenstein.
I can't relate to the life style or the money but I admire her as a strong, independent woman who built a strong company. I like the tips for skin care she gives too - may even try out her products one of these days.!
I can't relate to the life style or the money but I admire her as a strong, independent woman who built a strong company. I like the tips for skin care she gives too - may even try out her products one of these days.!
July 8, 2015
This was an inspirational book for me. Estee Lauder began her company in her kitchen using recipes from her scientist uncle. It was from that humble beginnings that she grew her business to a mega success.
Estee was a remarkable woman who used her charm and determination to win over her customers.Today, this personal involvement and excellent customer rapport seems to be missing from our society.
I was so impressed with this story that upon finishing, I went to an Estee Lauder cosmetic counter to purchase products! If only, it was from Estee, herself!
Estee was a remarkable woman who used her charm and determination to win over her customers.Today, this personal involvement and excellent customer rapport seems to be missing from our society.
I was so impressed with this story that upon finishing, I went to an Estee Lauder cosmetic counter to purchase products! If only, it was from Estee, herself!
September 27, 2013
A true American success story--she lived well but she earned it all, starting with nothing. We tend to think of men when we think about American business successes. Graceful beautiful Estee Lauder, who is still making women beautiful all over the world. She is proof that persistence pays off no matter the field. She says so herself in this book. She amazes me, and this should be required reading for young women and business students alike.
January 25, 2008
I read this book because I happened upon it in the library and desperately needed something to keep my mind functioning outside of toddler activities. But you know, it was really good! It was a great personal story as well as a remarkable tale of how this woman made it in a difficult business and some of the bizarre stuff she put up with as her company grew and faced competitors.
June 25, 2010
I read this many years ago and would really like to read it again sometime. It was interesting to hear about the extent to which cosmetic companies go to protect their formulas. I also enjoyed hearing about how Estee Lauder began her career quite humbly and made it big in a very competitive business.
June 16, 2012
I really enjoyed this read. A self-penned biography. Engrossing Big business story. Impressive lady. Intrigueing how the beauty-Industry is pictured from within by a self-made business woman who in a globalized environment managed to hold on to and expand a highly profitable and successful familyventure.
September 29, 2013
What an amazing life.
April 22, 2009
What a strong powerful woman! Her story is a business woman's tour of passion.
April 10, 2009
She made me think about majoring in chemistry!
Loved all of her advice
Loved all of her advice
August 30, 2013
Non-fiction. Awesome. Sounds silly but she inspires me to wear more makeup and perfume!
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